Matthew 9:32-38
Jesus is the King!
Read
Matt. 8:16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,
Matt. 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
Pray
Intro
√ Jesus is the King!
Remember that Matthew was writing primarily to a Jewish audience. Therefore, he appeals to the Old Testament prophets to present the credentials of the King.
In our opening text he quotes from Isaiah 53 who foretold that the King (Messiah) would be a healer and a miracle worker.
So, in these last two chapters Matthew records for us a series of miracles that authenticate Jesus’ claim to be the King! He…
Heals the sick
Raises the dead
Casts out demons
Calms the wind and waves
So that the people of
“It was never seen like this in
And indeed there has never been anyone like Jesus in the history of the world!
That’s Matthew’s point! That Jesus is the long awaited Messiah King and that He proved it beyond any doubt by the miracles that He did…
So, as we close out this section of Matthew’s Gospel we’ll use the opportunity to summarize all the Jesus did.
The Credentials of the King (vs. 32-34)
Matt. 9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.
Matt. 9:33 And when
the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying,
“It was never seen like this in
Matt. 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
√ The Credentials of the King
The last miracle that Matthew records in this section, though certainly not the last miracle that Jesus did,…
…involves a man who is both demon-possessed, and mute.
We’re not given a lot of details, only the man’s condition and Jesus’ work in his life.
Matthew tells us that Jesus cast out the demon and when the demon was gone that the man was able to speak!
Two short verses.
Yet, the people were stunned!
√ The people marvel
This is what captures my attention, the people’s response to Jesus’ work. Note that Matthew tells us…
“And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the
multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in
While it is certainly a great miracle, when compared to what Jesus had just done…
Raised a little girl from the dead
Cast out a legion of demons from a man
Cleansed a leper
…this miracle seems almost “easy” by comparison.
So, why were the people so stunned that they said…
“It was never seen like this in Israel!”? ~ Vs. 33
I’d suggest that they were acknowledging the magnitude of all that they had seen Jesus do in Capernaum and the Galilee.
That’s what set Him apart from every other miracle worker and confirmed what they suspected to be true…
…that Jesus was in fact the King!
Ex. Other miracle workers
Elijah and Elisha healed the sick, cleansed a leper, even raised the dead!
Moses certainly did many mighty miracles.
But no one ever did as much as Jesus did and with such great authority and power!
So, we find the people in Capernaum overwhelmed by the many miracles they saw Jesus do.
Ap. Summary
We’ve learned from chapters 8 and 9 that Jesus is more than just a miracle worker.
He is the King and the miracles that He did reveal His character and His heart toward people.
We find that…
1) He’s concerned for individuals
Even though Jesus was surrounded constantly by great crowds of people, we find that He still took time to respond to the needs of individual.
We also discovered that He loved and ministered to those shunned by others!
Ap. He cares for you!
No matter how big or small your need is, no matter who you are, or what you’ve done…
…King Jesus wants to minister to you!
2) He can meet every need
We discovered that there is nothing to hard for King Jesus! He can…
Heal the sick
Raise the dead
Calm the storm
Cast out demons
There is no need that He can’t fill, no sickness He can’t heal, no problem He can’t solve!
Ap. He can meet your needs
There isn’t any problem that you’re facing today that is bigger than King Jesus! Give Him the opportunity to respond to your need.
3) He responds to faith
We also discovered in these two chapters that Jesus was teaching His disciples some lessons on faith. We met people who had great faith…
The leper
The Centurion
The 4 men who brought the paralytic
Jairus
The anonymous woman
We also met people with little faith…
The disciples in the boat!
Ultimately what we learned is that the Kingdom of God is apprehended by those who have faith in the King.
Ap. He still responds to faith
All of God’s promises are still obtained by faith, faith in Jesus the King. Can’t get around faith!
The Compassion of the King (vs. 35-36)
Matt. 9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Matt. 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
√ The Compassion of the King
These two verses summarize the three-fold ministry of Jesus as recorded in the previous chapters. Matthew tells us that Jesus was busy…
Teaching
Preaching
Healing
That is, He was…
Teaching what the Kingdom of God is like.
Preaching how to become a citizen of the Kingdom.
Healing people to validate what He said about the Kingdom was true.
As a result of His ministry Matthew tells us that a huge group of people followed Jesus from city to city.
Who wouldn’t! If Jesus was in NW Arkansas doing the things that He did in Capernaum…
…we’d all pack up and follow Him wherever He went next!
The problem of course is that the people weren’t really prepared to live on the road. So, as Jesus looks out at them He sees that they’re…
Worn out
Hungry
Lost
Therefore, He has compassion on them, look at verse 36…
Matt. 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
That is significant because it sets Jesus even further apart from the Pharisees and religious leaders…
…who really didn’t care about the condition of God’s people.
Ex. The wicked shepherds
Jer. 23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD.
Jer. 23:2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD.
Jer. 23:3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Jer. 23:4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD.
While Jeremiah’s prophecy looks to the future time when Jesus rules the earth, none the less, it demonstrates the disparity in attitude of the wicked shepherds…
…from the Good Shepherd.
The wicked shepherds (the Pharisees and religious leaders) put the people under a heavy burden of legalism…
…and tried to turn people from Jesus the Good Shepherd!
While Jesus is genuinely concerned for the well being of the people.
√ The King knows our needs
A quick review of chapters 8 and 9 confirm that Jesus is the true King of Israel, not just because He did miracles…
…but that He also demonstrated a sincere love for the people by His work among them.
We discovered that Jesus is the…
Great Physician who came to heal sinners (9:12-13)
Bridegroom who came to win the sinners heart (9:14-17)
Good Shepherd who came to find and care for lost sinners (9:35-36)
In each example we find that Jesus is different from every other religious leaders in that He truly understands our needs and has come to meet those needs!
Ap. King Jesus understands your situation
One of the blessings that we have because of the Incarnation is that Jesus, God in Human flesh, experienced all the junk that we face as humans.
Heb. 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
He knows what it’s like to…
Be tempted by the Devil
Suffer humiliation
Be rejected by those He loved
Suffer physical, emotional and spiritual pain
Be hungry and tired
So, He has compassion on us because He’s experienced life as we do.
The Companions of the King (vs. 37-38)
Matt. 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Matt. 9:38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
√ The companions of the King
The last few verses of chapter 9 are a transition section.
It connects Matthew’s account of all that Jesus was doing…
…with the account of all that the disciples, the companions of the King, began to do.
Specifically we’re going to see how Jesus plans to minister to the people that He had compassion upon.
1) He seeks the lost
We notice firstly that as important as all the physical healings were, here we find Jesus concerned with an even greater need…
…the spiritual harvest of souls!
Jesus tells the disciples to pray to the Father for laborers, companions in the harvest, because souls are ripe for the picking!
The point is that Jesus’ preaching, teaching and healing had prepared the hearts of the people to trust in Him for salvation.
A spiritual harvest!
Yet, to effectively harvest all those souls required extra labor! That’s where the boys come in.
2) He calls us to help
The whole concept of people helping God to accomplish His will is exciting to me!
That’s because I understand that God doesn’t really need my help…
…He could do His work all by Himself!
Yet, He chooses to involve people like you and me!
Ex. He could do Sky Writing!
If you look back over the previous chapters you’ll find that in a very subtle way Jesus was already working with people to accomplish His purposes.
Peter opened his home to Jesus where many heard the Gospel and were healed.
Matthew used his home to host a dinner and invited all his friends to meet Jesus.
Legion was sent by Jesus to tell his family and friends throughout the Decapolis about the great things God did for him.
Now we find Jesus wanting to expand the scope of His earthly ministry and to do so requires that the Father provide more harvesters!
In chapter 10 we’ll be introduced to those who are the answer to Jesus’ prayer!
To me that is very exciting! That Jesus has chosen to work with and through people to do His greatest work in the universe!
Ap. The King is still looking for companions
Everyone of us has the opportunity and privilege to be of service to the King!
The Harvest of souls is still ripe.
The King is still looking for harvesters.
We can all be a part of the greatest project in the universe!
Close
√ Jesus is the King!
He’s proved it by His…
Credentials ~ the miracles that He did
Compassion ~ demonstrating that He has the Father’s heart
…and He’s invited us to be more than just citizens, He’s invited us to be companions in His work!